2023 Event
On the formidability scale, Hartside Pass doesn't rank highly. Whilst it's one of the longest hill climbs in the country, perhaps only officially beaten by Shap Fell and the Cat and Fiddle. The well engineered, lazy 5.2% gradient barely breaches 10% and I'd be hard pressed to tell where that was. It's extremely consistent gradient favours a rider who can sustain an unwavering super-threshold effort with no break.
Starting in the quaint Cumbrian village of Melmerby, Hartside Pass crawls its way along the nearby ridge, summiting at 576m above sea level. Popular with motorbikes, the road has a superb surface and promises terrific views on a clear day. Perhaps rare in Cubria.
The summit used to be the home of England's highest cafe until it burned down. Now the summit hosts a barren car park with a ice cream van on nice days. The tour of Britain had a summit finish in 2015 where Wout Poel surged past Edvald Boassen Hagen in the last 200m to take the victory. Boasson Hagen would go on to take the overall GC victory 13 seconds ahead of Wout Poels.
Starting in the quaint Cumbrian village of Melmerby, Hartside Pass crawls its way along the nearby ridge, summiting at 576m above sea level. Popular with motorbikes, the road has a superb surface and promises terrific views on a clear day. Perhaps rare in Cubria.
The summit used to be the home of England's highest cafe until it burned down. Now the summit hosts a barren car park with a ice cream van on nice days. The tour of Britain had a summit finish in 2015 where Wout Poel surged past Edvald Boassen Hagen in the last 200m to take the victory. Boasson Hagen would go on to take the overall GC victory 13 seconds ahead of Wout Poels.
The week of the 2023 event was unseasonably warm. Across the country we had a heat wave, with 7 days in a row over 30 degrees. The race day was no different. Warming up, it was 26 degrees, far too hot for a Yorkiebar and I was dripping with sweat.
It had been a few years since I'd been up Hartside but with Nationals being on The Struggle, I needed practice for both longer efforts and for pacing. I was conscious not to set out hard but also weary that I was being chased by Andy Cunningham and current national champ Andrew Feather. I was aiming for 380W average for the whole climb and was holding this nicely for the first 10 minutes. Once I passed the 5.5km mark, things went sideways for me. I went around the right hand corner from which you can see the summit and it becomes more exposed.
I no longer felt spritely and with the wind now against me, I began to capitulate. I had to reign in my effort and could only do 345W for the last 2km. I didn't feel like I had blown, more like I had run out of sugar. Feeling empty rather than overexerted. I kept myself relatively together and sprinted for the line.
My ride was definitely beatable but over a minute later Andy Cunningham crossed over, so I'd beaten him. But then another minute went passed and Feather wasn't there. More time passed and still no sign.
He didn't finish.
Crippled by the 5%er he stopped after just 6 minutes.
Whilst I had beaten Andrew and Andy, I was stuzzed by Iain Duffield into second place. He put in a good shift and pulled it back when I faltered in the last 5 minutes.
Winning would have been nice, but I was still pleased to come second. I outright beat the national champion and I beat Andy Cunningham who I've been very close to in the past.
Everyone I spoke to afterwards had struggled with the heat/humidity and I like to blame this for my small capitulation and not lack of pacing.
It had been a few years since I'd been up Hartside but with Nationals being on The Struggle, I needed practice for both longer efforts and for pacing. I was conscious not to set out hard but also weary that I was being chased by Andy Cunningham and current national champ Andrew Feather. I was aiming for 380W average for the whole climb and was holding this nicely for the first 10 minutes. Once I passed the 5.5km mark, things went sideways for me. I went around the right hand corner from which you can see the summit and it becomes more exposed.
I no longer felt spritely and with the wind now against me, I began to capitulate. I had to reign in my effort and could only do 345W for the last 2km. I didn't feel like I had blown, more like I had run out of sugar. Feeling empty rather than overexerted. I kept myself relatively together and sprinted for the line.
My ride was definitely beatable but over a minute later Andy Cunningham crossed over, so I'd beaten him. But then another minute went passed and Feather wasn't there. More time passed and still no sign.
He didn't finish.
Crippled by the 5%er he stopped after just 6 minutes.
Whilst I had beaten Andrew and Andy, I was stuzzed by Iain Duffield into second place. He put in a good shift and pulled it back when I faltered in the last 5 minutes.
Winning would have been nice, but I was still pleased to come second. I outright beat the national champion and I beat Andy Cunningham who I've been very close to in the past.
Everyone I spoke to afterwards had struggled with the heat/humidity and I like to blame this for my small capitulation and not lack of pacing.
How To Ride
Hartside is long but easy. You need to pace for a longer effort than you think and it's very weather dependant. I would advise riding a negative split, what you lose in the first half you can make up for in the exposed second half.
Watch for the wind direction. This can play a major role, it can add or take off minutes on a long exposed one like this.
Avoid surging, a nice constant pace is faster.
Watch for the wind direction. This can play a major role, it can add or take off minutes on a long exposed one like this.
Avoid surging, a nice constant pace is faster.
My Efforts
Year |
Time |
Power (W) |
Placing |
2023 |
18:13.3 |
363 |
2nd |
From almost the top looking back down
The sprint for the line.
